John Piatt, Ph.D. (Former Employee)

We studied breeding success, chick growth, and diets of Least (Aethia pusilla) and Crested (A. cristatella) auklets on St. Lawrence Island, Alaska, in summer 1987. Least Auklets had higher breeding success on control plots (50-66%) than on disturbed plots (36%). Crested Auklets had a breeding success of 42% on disturbed plots. Predation by microtine rodents and weather accounted for most...

About 1.8 million seabirds of 12 species breed on St. Lawrence Island (Figure 1) - one of the largest aggregations of breeding seabirds in the subarctic Pacific. Colonies of least and crested auklets alone, totaling 1.5 million birds, contain a substantial proportion (perhaps 20%) of these species’ world populations. Large seabird colonies occur also at Cape Thompson (Figure 2), where...

On 24 March 1989, the oil tanker 'Exxon Valdez' spilled 260,000 barrels of crude oil in Prince William Sound, Alaska. Oil eventually drifted over $30,000\ {\rm km}^{2}$ of coastal and offshore waters occupied by approximately one million marine birds. More than 30,000 dead birds of 90 species were retrieved from polluted areas by 1 August 1989. Of those identified, murres (74%), other...

I studied the aggregative responses of Common Murres and Atlantic Puffins to schools of capelin during three summers (1982-1984) at Witless Bay, Newfoundland, by conducting hydroacoustic surveys for capelin in synchrony with seabird censuses. Murres and puffins foraged offshore prior to the arrival inshore of spawning schools of capelin. Both species were abundant during peak periods of...

Diurnal and seasonal patterns of attendance of Least Auklets (Aethia pusilla) and Crested Auklets (A. cristatella) were studied in 1987 at breeding colonies on St. Lawrence Island, Alaska. Numbers of auklets attending eight 200-m2 plots on talus slopes were counted throughout the day by observers on 11 occasions through the breeding season. Numbers attending smaller plots were recorded...

Examination of 46 Canada goose goslings yielded 14 species of parasites, including five Protozoa, four Nematoda, two Cestoda, and three Trematoda. Evidence indicates that goslings acquired most of these infections during their first week of life. Some parasites, Prosthogonimus sp., occurred only in younger birds. Others, Leucocytozoon simondi, were evident only during the initial course...

Mortality rates of canvasbacks were estimated from band-recovery records. The annual rate of mortality of immatures during the first year was 77 per cent. Annual mortality rates of adults ranged from 35 to 50 per cent. Mortality rates of females were higher than those of males. Relatively larger numbers of immatures and adult females were shot early in the hunting season, and relatively...

Patterns of abundance of humpback (Megaptera novaeangliae), fin (Balaenoptera physalus), and minke (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) whales are described in relation to the abundance of their primary prey, capelin (Mallotus villosus), during 1982–1985 at Witless Bay, Newfoundland. The abundance ratio of the three whale species was 10:1:3.5, respectively. Abundance of all whale species was...

No abstract available.

The importance of capelin as prey for cod has long been known (Thompson, 1943; and see Lilly (1987) for a review); however, no studies have been conducted on how the highly dynamic seasonal and yearly variations in capelin abundance affect cod diet. We studied the occurrence of capelin in cod stomachs in relation to the relative abundance of capelin at Witless Bay, Newfoundland (47°15’N...

Investigations of seabird population sizes and breeding biology were conducted at Cape Thompson from 1959 to 1961 during pre-development studies associated with the Atomic through 1982, the Alaskan Program (OCSEAP) supported determine whether changes Energy Commission’s “Project Chariot.” From 1976 Outer Continental Shelf Environmental Assessment efforts to recensus seabirds at Cape...

A field camp was established at Kongkok Bay near the southwest cape of St. Lawrence Island and occupied continuously from 24 May to 2 September 1987. Permanent study plots were selected for both cliff and crevice-nesting species, and regular observations were made throughout the breeding season to document attendance patterns, breeding phenology, and success. Periodic collections of...